OFF THE RECORD #50

The Spirit of November
Racing with Purpose at the Charity Mile

The R1 Million Allied Steelrode OnAMission Grade 2 Charity Mile at Turffontein on Saturday boasts a rich history filled with illustrious winners and captivating stories, all tied to a charitable cause that has been celebrated since 2006.

The 2024 edition, sponsored for the fourth time by global steel manufacturer Allied Steelrode, will feature 19 deserving charities. The charity linked to the winning horse will receive R100 000, while all other charities with horses in the final field (including reserve runners) are guaranteed an increased minimum of R30 000, up from R20 000 last year.

Entrepreneur Neil Smith developed the original concept of the Charity Mile in collaboration with Phumelela Gaming & Leisure, envisioning a feature race in which the individual runners were backed by celebrities and connected to deserving charities.

Robert Garner, who worked closely with Smith on the first few events, recalled: “We were looking for a big race over 1600m but initially there were no races available. We decided to test the idea and the best race we could find was a MR65 Handicap on 12 March, 2006. There were 16 celebrities, each drew one of 16 runners and the winner was Salt Lake City, trained by Buddy Maroun and ridden by Piere Strydom.”

Above: 'Hawk' Makepule and Salt Lake City win for Tumela Retirement Home

Smith and his team negotiated a R300,000 stake for this modest handicap, and a cheque of R30,000 was awarded to the Tumela Retirement Home after their celebrity representative, boxer 'Hawk' Makepule, drew the winning horse. The excitement generated around the first Charity Mile made it a notable success. The event gained elevated status when it was attached to the Grade 2 November Handicap over 1600m just seven months later, and was backed by even greater promotional muscle.

The Charity Mile was formerly known as the November Handicap and it was first run as a Grade 2 race on 16 November 1968 at Gosforth Park. The race, worth R8,000, was won by Bill Bailey (Oligarchy), trained by Harold Hoving and ridden by Gerald Turner.

The November Handicap became the Germiston November Handicap, traditionally contested on the first Saturday in November, and for several years, it was the richest 1600m handicap in South Africa. When Gosforth Park was closed in 2001, it reverted to the November Handicap until 2006, when the Charity Miles began. Emperors Palace took up sponsorship in 2009, followed by ASSM in 2021.

Above: The mighty Wolf Power

The November Handicap was raced as a Grade 2 from its inception to 1990, and as a Grade 1 between 1990 and 2004, when it reverted to Grade 2 status. Interestingly, the list of past winners boasts many of South Africa’s turf legends who won it during the initial, Grade 2 years. They include Foveros (1981) Wolf Power (1982 and 1983), Petrava (1985), Jungle Rock (1986) and Northern Princess (1989).

Notable achievements by horses:
Bill Bailey, the first November Handicap winner in 1968, finished second to Floretus in 1969. Welcome Boy, 2^nd to Great Sun in 1978, won the race from Ocean Blue in 1979. Foreign Agent won in 1974 and finished third in 1975. Wolf Power won the race in course record time in 1982 and in SA record time of 93,99s in 1983. Rain Forest, a talented horse in his own right, found the champion Wolf Power a length too good in 1983, but won the race in 1984. Secretary General won in 1996 and finished second to Cup Holder in 1997. Bingwa (2021 and 2022) is the only other horse to have won the race twice.

Biggest winning distance:
Foreign Agent won the November Handicap by seven lengths in 1974 and former jockey and later jockey’s representative Tex Lerena recalled. “All the top jockeys of the era rode in that race – Gerald Turner, Raymond Rhodes, Martin Schoeman, Roy Curling, Felix Coetzee, Michael Cave, Bert Hayden and Tobie van Booma. I was on one called Totem Pole for Roy Unsworth. A young jockey sensation visited from Durban, he was Michael ‘Muis’ Roberts. The start of the race was on the bend, quite tricky depending on where you were drawn. Muis bounced Foreign Agent out in a flash and got all the jockeys on his inside tight for galloping room. Their chances were gone, Muis scored a runaway win.

Above:  Michael 'Muis' Roberts

“We were annoyed that this young guy, who rode for top owner Cyril Hurwitz, had taught us a quick lesson. Later in the day there was a 2700m race in which horses had to run over a dry patch of ground. We decided to make things tight for Muis, this was our home turf and he needed a good Highveld welcome. We boxed him in and tried to intimidate him when we raced over the patch, but to no avail. He just shouted at us to bugger off. He rode his race, his way and may have won it, too.”

Most successful trainers:
Mike de Kock has won the race four times with Smart Money (1986), Alderry (2010), Mujaarib (2012) and Barahin (2019). Asked which of them was the most memorable, De Kock quipped, “Alderry, I’d say. When she went to stud, her owner sent all her progeny to another trainer!” Ricky Maingard won the November three times. He saddled Wolf Power (1982, 1983) and Jungle Sands (1991). Johan Janse Van Vuuren also boasts three successes in New Predator (2016), Bingwa (2022) and Puerto Manzano (2023). Geoff Woodruff notched victories with Duchess Daba (2003), Swartland (2004) and Soft Landing won the inaugural Grade 2 Charity Mile in 2006. Alec Laird is another to have scored a treble. He saddled Mill Hill (1988) and then won in successive years with Bezanova (2014) and Bouclette Top (2015).

Most successful jockeys:
Jeff Lloyd rode four successive November Handicap winners in Wolf Power (1982, 1983), Rain Forest (1984) and Petrava (1985), and lost by a short head on I Try when Mill Hill won in 1988. Gavin Lerena also has four victories to his credit, riding Bouclette Top (2015), New Predator (2016), Bingwa (2022) and Puerto Manzano (2023). The longest time between drinks: Weichong Marwing, who had to wait 16 years after winning on Smart Money (1998), before booting home Bezanova in 2014.

Above: Gavin Lerena brings it home with Bouclette Top

Grey horses:
Wolf Power and Jungle Rock (1986) are the only greys to have won it since 1968, and this year’s grey runner is the smart Barbaresco, who could break the 38-year drought.

Giant Killers:
Clifton King was the giant killer of his era. He was the only runner ever to beat the mighty Horse Chestnut (over 1200m) and he claimed the scalp of the equally accomplished Jet Master in the 1999 renewal of the November Handicap. Trainer Paddy Kruyer, who also won the race with Secretary General, said: “Clifton King was a high quality horse, a natural athlete. On his day he could gallop with the very best of them.” Clifton King raced for Clifton-based Len Salzman, who paid the equivalent of R400,000 at a sale in New Zealand. He won 17 races in total, including all the major races in Mauritius.

Quick Wit was an apparently moderate two-time winner when he was spotted at a horses-in-training sale by Robert Bloomberg, who bought him for R35,000 and sent the horse to trainer Michael Schuleman at Randjesfontein. Quick Wit turned the corner, improved dramatically and won 10 races for Bloomberg and partner Colin Levine. These wins included the 1994 November Handicap, in which he posted a narrow win over the likes of Young Victor, Record Edge, Surfing Home, Imperial Dispatch and Fire Arch, rivals with multiple Graded wins between them.

Bloomberg noted: “I thought he had potential. He had two major assets I always look for when buying a horse in training – versatility and a turn of foot.” Quick Wit was Bloomberg’s first Grade 1 winner and there have been a further eight since then. He said about Schuleman: “ ‘Schuli Vanilli’ has retired and is living in Portugal.”

Biggest outsiders:
The first long-priced horse to win the race was Deep Magic (1977, 14-1), trained by W.E. ‘Boet’ Huckell and ridden by his then apprentice, Derek Martin, who weighed out at 47kg and stole a march on the son of Magic Mirror to win by 4.5-lengths. Martin recalled, earlier this week: “Deep Magic had never run over 1600m before the November, hence the market’s uncertainty about him. He was a decent horse and should have been shorter in the betting. The win was a highlight for Mr Huckell and I. He died shortly after that.” The biggest outsider to win the race, however, was Kom Naidoo-trained Royal Zulu Warrior (25-1) who stormed to post in 2013 under Karl Zechner.

Owners:
Veteran owner and former NHA Chairman Ken Truter, like Bloomberg, enjoyed his first Grade 1 success in the November Handicap. His runner Glamour Boy was a facile winner of the 2000 renewal, racing for trainer David Ferraris and jockey Piere Strydom. Truter has had four more Grade 1 wins since, including 2020 Sun Met with One World, who is now an emerging star stallion.

Laurence Wernars, his family and racing partners have won the race twice, with imports New Predator (2016) and Puerto Manzano (2023), and their runners Barbaresco, Litigation and Celtic Rumours all have chances of rounding off a third success this year.

Drakenstein Stud (Gaynor Rupert), bagged the contest with Hat Puntano in 2017. They have three good runners this year in Winchester Mansion, Silver Sanctuary and Safe Passage.

Fillies and mares:
Only eight fillies and/or mares have managed to take the honours in the November Handicap’s 56-year history. Petrava was the first filly to win it in 1985, the grand mare Jamaica was a notable winner in 2005, and Alderry was the last filly to do it, in 2010..

Mill Hill’s short-head defeat of I Try in 1988 carries a behind-the-scenes story. Race caller Peter Duffield’s voice disappeared before the running of the race, and learner commentator Clyde Basel was not on officially on air yet. He was still practising his calls from one of the racecourse towers, and recording them on tape. To deal with the emergency, the club called on junior administrator and rookie caller Gary John Knowles to call the big race for 30,000 racegoers, television viewers and listeners on radio. Young Knowles was shaking like a leaf when he entered the commentary box, and he emerged from it drenched in sweat. He’d survived the neck-and-neck finish and made the right call on the line. Mill Hill was declared the winner, and all was good!

This year’s female contestants are Grade 2 SA Oaks winner Frances Ethel, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 winner Silver Sanctuary and Grade 2 Joburg Spring Challenge heroine, Celtic Rumours.

November-winning jockeys, now training:

Michael Roberts (Foreign Agent) went on to a training career and is still in business, along with Paul Gadsby (Lampoon, 1976), Robbie Hill (Unaware,1992), Douglas Whyte (Kick The Habit, 1990) Weichong Marwing (Smart Money and Bezanova) and Gavin van Zyl (Mill Hill). None of them have a runner in this year’s race.